The Weight
by Mojotheomegawolf
Summary: "For of all sad words of tongue and pen the saddest are these: "It might have been.""
1. Chapter 1

**The Weight**

**Chapter 1: On a Rail**

Tiny particles of dust zipped back and forth like thousands of little insects through the thin beams of light that trickled in through the crack in the door, casting a frail halo of light into the otherwise tenebrous train car. It may have been a few hours, it may have been a few days, and it may have even been a few weeks, but he was not entirely sure as time seemed to blend into itself in the train car; all he did know was that he could never go back, not after all that had happened.

He had made his decision to leave and had almost remained regardless of such a decision, but in the end, after convincing himself that this was the only option, he found himself here, alone and heartbroken.

He did not know how long he cried before he had finally passed on into the haunted realm of his dreams, disturbed by the images of "them" after their wedding, making the love that should have been his to make and raising the children that should have been his to raise. One looked just like her mother, as he imagined, with her beautiful golden coat and amber eyes, but the other two resembled everything that was his to despise. He hated them as much as he hated their father, the one who took away his future and the one who was responsible for all of the pain he felt. He hated them all.

But how could he think such things? She was happy and if what she was doing was making her happy, that was all that mattered to him. He would just have to suffer alone, and so it was to be Humphrey the omega, wanting nothing more than happiness for those he held dear even if it meant that the rest of his life would be spent in misery.

Did he wish things would have turned out differently? Of course he did, but he would never regret his decision. He tried his best to make her care and he failed. He tried his best to change the inevitable and he failed, and he tried his best to deny to himself that he had failed, and he failed. Solitude was the only place where he could find refuge from his seemingly endless list of failures in life.

So now there he lay, in the corner of the train car in the nest he had made from hay, blinking tiredly as he watched the dust zip in and out of the light, his body rocking with the gentle rhythm of the car.

He did not know where he was going, but he knew that anywhere would be better than back there just so long as he could forget what he was running from once he got where he was going.

Α&Ω

"Um... yeah... I'm getting married," she said to the two waterfowl that stood before her, "who told you?"

"I did," Humphrey replied, turning the corner.

The two birds shifted awkwardly as he approached and quickly dismissed themselves from the scene, leaving just the two of them.

Humphrey stepped closer and she lowered her eyes, either of shame for what she was doing or for what she had done, but he broke the silence with a sudden yelp.

"Excuse me," he pleaded, scratching behind his ear, "little flea," then from behind his ear he produced a beautiful pink flower, "it's just a little something for your big day," he said to her as he placed it behind her ear.

"Thank you," she thanked then watched as Humphrey's smile faded from his face.

"I just wanted to say goodbye," Humphrey stated dejectedly.

"Goodbye?" she asked surprised.

"Yeah I'm thinking about doing a little traveling," Humphrey replied, scratching his chest fur, "you know, seeing where the train takes me. And hey maybe I'll visit our friends the bears. I'll tell them you said hi."

The two shared a laugh as Humphrey rose to his feet, preparing to take his leave, but she followed him.

"Wait," she called, "you're leaving Jasper?"

"Yeah," he replied with false confidence, "you know, it's a 'lone wolf' thing."

"But I know Humphrey the fun loving omega," she argued with a smile that quickly melted into a heartbroken frown, "not Humphrey the lone wolf."

"So I'll be a fun loving lone wolf," Humphrey replied, biting back the tears, and turned away from her, but as he left, they broke free and began to run freely through the fur on his cheeks.

"I don't doubt that," she mused, watching him leave for the final time.

Α&Ω

Humphrey's eyes blinked themselves open and he lifted his head to find that the light which had once shown through the door had been replaced by darkness. With a sigh, he lowered his head and rolled over over onto his back, staring intently at the ceiling above him. He wondered if anybody missed him yet or if they even realized that he was gone. Probably not. They were probably all still celebrating the unification, eating well, drinking well with drinks of sweet fermented berries; perhaps he would be missed tomorrow when Salty, Shakey, and Mooch came knocking at his den and he wasn't there. Salty, Shakey, and Mooch... his only true friends... He would miss them dearly, how would they take his sudden departure, and most importantly, would anybody try to come looking for him once they realized that he was never coming back? He truly hoped not, for he would hate to put them through all the trouble of trying to find him just to send them home empty-handed, and besides, the whole thing would just be too painful for everybody whether they gave a damn or not. This was just one of those things that was better off left alone. He held a paw over his face and studied its silhouette against the darkness of the car, pondering what he should do next. He knew that he could not stay on the train forever, but where would he even start in trying to establish a new life after leaving behind everything he had ever known? He lowered his paw and rolled over into his stomach then pressed himself up to his haunches.

Perhaps a little bit of fresh air would help to clear his mind, provide for him a better atmosphere in which to think.

He rose to his paws and ventured over to the door then pushed it open, being greeted immediately by the cool embrace of the night. He sat down and ran his eyes out over the vast plains before him, watching the dew on the grass as it sparkled in a brilliant array of light beneath the rays of the moon and emitted yet another sigh.

Would she care that he was gone, or was anything that appeared to him to be her caring nothing more than his imagination, a delusion created by his hope that she loved him the way that he loved her?

He brushed such thoughts away, for continuing to think about her would only make him feel worse than he already did, and swallowed at his bile, then returned his attention to the land before him.

He blinked away the veil of tears that blurred his eyes and studied the land intently.

Perhaps he could start here?

No, it was far too open. There were not enough trees and there was no place that he could see that would be suitable for a den. Besides, he still felt as though he was too near to Jasper. He sighed and laid himself down, hanging his forepaws over the edge of the car.

"I guess I'll just have to keep going," he thought to himself and let his ears fold flat to the top of his skull.

Α&Ω

"Smile, Kate," Eve slurred to her daughter, roughly nudging her shoulder with her paw, "this is a happy day for all of us."

"I know," Kate replied, distancing herself slightly, "but I just..."

"Just what, sweetie," Eve asked with a cock of her head and sat down for she nearly fell over.

"I just don't really feel up for this right now," Kate replied with a sigh and lowered her head.

"Oh I see," Eve replied, blinking heavily, "bu-bit of a long day, huh?"

Kate nodded, only telling half of a lie, for she was tired, but mainly she was distraught and wanted to distance herself from this atmosphere for a while so that she could think. She knew this was wrong, but marrying Garth was her responsibility, it was her duty to the packs to sell herself to somebody for whom she had no feelings to ensure the well-being of those around her. In doing wrong she was doing right, which was somehow supposed to make this alright, but a wrong and a right come nowhere close to making a right when the thing she did wrong was hurt somebody she truly cared about in order to do right for everybody else. Sacrifices, sacrifices... always do for the other even if your own happiness, or the happiness of those you care about, was compromised, and so is how it was to be Kate, the alpha daughter of the Western Alpha Pair.

"Alright Hun," Eve said to her, leaning over and hugging her quickly, nearly knocking both of them over, "you g-ho and get some rest."

Kate pulled away and nodded.

"Looks like you could use a little yourself," she said bitterly, but Eve was far too inebriated to detect it.

"Oh no," she replied with a large amount of undue emphasis, "I'm perfectl- perfectly fine for uh... for now."

"Alright," Kate said dismissively, "well I love you."

"Love you too sweetie," Eve replied.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

With that said, Kate turned away from the party and began to make her way back to her den, but just as soon as she was out of sight, she sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry Humphrey," she mumbled, turning her head to the moon above.

For a matter of about five minutes, she stood inert, gazing up at the white face of the moon, then turned away, blinked the veil of tears from her eyes, and walked slowly home.


	2. Life as we Know It

**Chapter 2: Life as we Know It.**

Humphrey did not realize that he had fallen asleep until he felt the livid rays of the coming sun beating against his eyelids.

He groaned in annoyance and pinched his eyelids tighter together for a moment then slowly blinked his eyes open, ridding them of the spots that danced about in his field of view.

With a bitter sigh he lifted his head and took a moment to regard land before him, finding that not much had changed aside from the addition of light and a few sparse shrubs.

"'Nother day in the life," he mused.

With a shake of his head, he pressed himself to his paws and turned, but jumped back in alarm when he saw her standing before him.

"Kate?" he asked in surprise, "wha- but-"

"Yes, Humphrey," she replied, "it's me."

"But wh- what are you doing here?" he asked her in bewilderment.

She shrugged and rose to her paws.

"Oh, nothing," she replied with a cruel smile, "I just thought I'd come and tell you how great my life is going without you in it."

"But-" Humphrey stammered, "I thought-"

"You thought what?" Kate spat with a sarcastic chuckle, "that I actually CARED about you?"

She rose to her paws and strutted over to him, circling his body slowly.

"How could I POSSIBLY love something as low and pathetic as you?" she asked him incredulously, "a, weak, useless, annoying omega."

"You don't mean that," Humphrey said desperately, tears filling his eyes.

"Of course I do," she stated, brushing her tail under his chin, "all I ever did... the playing,"

"No," Humphrey denied, plugging his ears.

"the howling,"

"No."

"the whole 'I had fun' bit,"

"Stop it," he cried

"all of it was a ploy just to see how miserable it would make you when I decided to break your little heart, and boy was it better than I had anticipated. I mean I didn't actually expect you to leave, but all that was, was just a bonus on my end. Now I never have to see you again."

"Shut up!" Humphrey screamed, pinching his eyes tightly together, "you don't mean it."

But when he opened his eyes once more, she was gone.

Humphrey panted and glanced frantically around the train car, but quickly found that he was alone.

Distraught by the episode that he just experienced, Humphrey broke down and began to sob, pulling his body tightly together and wrapping his tail about himself, seeking a form of self comfort in his own embrace.

Α&Ω

Kate did not sleep that night, for she found that no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop thinking about what she had done, how ashamed that she was

She betrayed her best friend, ripped his heart out of his chest and crushed it before his very eyes then stood by and watched as he picked up what fragile pieces remained and disappeared like a plume of smoke on the wind. How she hoped that he didn't really go through with it; God how she prayed that he would be in his den, but she knew that it wouldn't matter anyway. How could she even face him after what she did to him? What would she say; "sorry that I broke your heart, now let's shake paws and be friends like we once were."? That wouldn't fix a thing, nothing would. Nothing at all could repair the damage that had been done, and it knowing this made her sick.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the scrape of paws drawing near and turned to see her mother approaching her.

"Morning, Kate," she greeted, her voice gruff, and sat down beside her, "how are you feeling this morning?"

"Sick," Kate replied dryly and slowly rose to her haunches, "you?"

"Bout the same," she replied with a single sniffle, "gah, I haven't drank that much in a long time."

"Yeah, you and dad were pretty lit last night," Kate mused flatly, trying to disguise her inner woe, "and where is he, by the way?"

"He and I had a little bit of an argument last night," she replied, laying herself starkly upon the ground, "he stayed over at Tony's."

"Oh," Kate said, lowering her eyes to her paws, "would, uh, would you like some water?"

"Please," Eve answered stuffily and turned over onto her back, "there should be a *burp* gah, a bowl around here somewhere."

"I'll find it," Kate assured and rose to her paws, anxious to remove herself from the scene for a while, "you just lay still, alright?"

Eve nodded and draped the back of her foreleg over her eyes then pushed out a long sigh between slightly parted lips.

Kate moved slowly to the mouth of the den, collected the bowl, then began to move down the ramp, but her head wasn't where it needed to be and when she ran into her father, she nearly fell off of the overhang and would have had her father not caught her scruff at the last moment.

"Kate," he asked worried, releasing her scruff, "are you alright?"

"Yeah," she replied, retrieving the bowl with her paws, "just getting mom some water. She's a bit under the weather if you know what I mean."

"Yeah." Winston stated slowly, "did she tell you?"

"About?"

"About our little disagreement last night," Winston answered.

"Oh yeah," Kate replied, though awkwardly, for she did not really wish to discuss such matters, "she did."

Winston nodded.

"So she told you that we may be getting a divorce?" he asked.

Kate's eyes widened.

"No, she didn't tell me that," she said worried, "what did you two fight about that was so bad it put a five year marriage at stake?"

Winston sighed and hung his head in shame.

"It's my fault, really," he admitted, "I should have known better."

Α&Ω

The loneliness killed him and relinquished him at the same time, for he needed the solitude to really think about his actions and what he should do next, but most importantly, it gave him time to cool down. However, with all of the good things that the destitute provided, the negatives that were included in the package were right behind them to drag him down. Yes, the seclusion gave him a chance to think, but that didn't necessarily mean that all of his thoughts were productive, and in all honesty it gave him a little bit too much time to think, so he slept little during the night and was restless during the day, tormented by his ceaseless thoughts.

He would pace the floor, count the boards on the ceiling, search for bugs in the hay, find shapes in the clouds, but none of these activities were permanent remedies for his mental ailments.

And still he had not the slightest idea where he should go, but there were two places that he knew he would never go. The first was back to Jasper because he knew he would go mad watching her romancing about with him, and the second was Sawtooth, where their adventure began. He would not return to the place where he would be forever reminded of what could have been, which is why he deliberately avoided the car behind him and tried his best to block its presence from his mind entirely.

He was then greeted by a low rumble in his stomach and lowered his eyes to it with a sigh.

He could not recall the last time he had a decent meal, quite possibly before they were captured, and now found himself in quite the predicament. How was he supposed to get food? It wasn't like he could just hop off the train anytime he pleased to grab himself a snack then jump back on, and there certainly wasn't anything in here to eat. What was he to do? How much longer would he have to wait, and more importantly, could he last that long?

Something then caught his eye, a small shadow that moved just on the edge of his peripherals, and he immediately turned to it, but not in time to actually see what had stirred his attention. However curious, he kept his eyes fixed on the spot where he had seen the movement and watched intently, hoping to catch the culprit in motion again. It did not take long for the thing to stir, for a tiny bulge began to slide along the surface of the hay, and this time, Humphrey was ready. Quickly, he leapt in and shot his paws into the hay, scattering it and throwing it aside as he searched for what moved inside of it, but he missed.

Frustrated, he lowered his eyes and ran them about the hay again, trying to relocate the thing with which he shared his temporary residence, and when he heard rustling to his right, he snapped into action. He threw hay aside again and this time, something jumped out of it, a medium grey mouse which hopped onto his foreleg and scurried frantically down his body and into the shadow of the corner.

Humphrey, having seen the potential for a meal, was now determined, and crouched low, hoping to catch the mouse by surprise. He crept slowly toward the corner, taking careful deliberation in where his paws fell, and as he drew near the corner in which the mouse had hid, he paused, his ears erect and open so that he may detect even the faintest of sounds.

He heard the scarring of its claws on the floor and tensed to spring, but as he prepared to launch himself upon the mouse, it scurried quickly between his paws. Humphrey slammed a paw down in frustration then turned and have chase, but the mouse slipped easily between a crack in the rear end of the car, escaping from harm.

"Damn it," Humphrey cursed in aggravation, for that was his first attempt at a hunt, and he failed miserably.


	3. Where Have You Gone, Charming Humphrey?

**Chapter 3: Where Have You Gone, Charming Humphrey?**

"What happened, dad?" Kate asked him, "what did you do?"

Winston was so ashamed that he could barely speak, but swallowed and lifted his eyes.

"I kissed another female," he replied softly, "intimately, then when your mother tried to step in, I hit her."

Kate was shocked.

"But... why?" she asked bewildered, "why would you do that?"

"I don't know, Kate," he said, trying to hold his emotions back, "I was drunk and, she was drunk, and... I don't know, I was stupid, okay? I messed up bad, and now your mother wants nothing to do with me."

Kate did not know what to say, nor did she know how to feel about this. One side was angry that her father would do such things, but the other was a little more understanding, for she knew what kind of effects the fermented berries had on wolves when they consumed too many. Even still, though, that did not excuse him from hitting her like that. Something as atrocious as that is unforgivable.

"Then why did you come back?" she asked, choosing, for now, the neutral response.

"To apologize," Winston replied almost as though he were sick, "to beg for her to forgive me, to plead with her for a second chance."

Kate placed a paw on his shoulder, trying to ease him, then handed him the bowl.

"Start with this," she said to him with an assuring nod.

Winston took the bowl and nodded.

Kate nodded in return then continued on her way down the ramp.

"Where are you going?" Winston called after her.

"You two need some alone time," she replied, turning her head to him, "and besides, I have an apology of my own to make."

Α&Ω

Humphrey's ailing stomach served for him as a constant reminder of his most recent failure and forebode to him what failures were still to come. How did he expect to eat if he did not know how to hunt? The whole incident with the mouse made that notion abundantly clear. If he could not catch something as simple as a mouse, how did he expect to be able to catch a rabbit or a grouse, or anything else that a single wolf was capable of bringing down? How would he eat? He couldn't hunt and was too conscientious to steal a meal from somebody who worked hard to kill it for themselves, and besides, he doubted there would be anybody else where he wound up anyway, so that would not be an option. Another thing that he realized, was that he could not fight, nor defend what was his because he had never needed such knowledge being an omega, so how did he expect to be able to survive in the unforgiving yond if he could not fend for himself. Maybe he should have thought these things out a little more carefully before he made his decision to leave.

He pondered these issues and their potential outcomes meticulously, and finally, after toiling with the variables for a matter of about ten minutes, he realized what he had to do, though he did not particularly care for the solution. He knew that he would have to change completely, in every aspect, essentially destroying himself in the process, but it was abundantly clear to him now that if he were to survive, the omega in his heart had to die.

Α&Ω

Kate was nervous, and she felt as though her stomach was about to jump out of her throat, but she knew she had to face him, even though she had not the slightest idea what she should say. Each time she would piece together what she thought would work as a suitable apology, she would quickly scratch the idea and send the words back into orbit around her brain, where she would once again try to wrestle them into a proper atonement that would express to him just how sorry she was for what she did to him, but would again fail.

Perhaps if she just shut her head off for a moment and allowed her heart to do the talking for once, then maybe just maybe, if she could truly express what she felt in her heart, she could begin to erase the scars she had sliced into his.

As she drew near to his den, she paused, taking a moment to collect herself, then pressed forward again, coming to rest just outside of its entrance.

"Humphrey?" she called into the den, but there was no reply from the darkness within.

"Humphrey, please just hear me out," Kate began again, tears beginning to sting her eyes, "I never mean to hurt you."

Again there was no reply.

"Humphrey, please you've gotta listen to me," Kate begged, stepping inside, but as she entered, she found the den to be empty.

Kate felt her stomach turn a flip and felt her heart drop right out of her chest, for she knew, even though she wanted so desperately to deny it, that he was gone.

But she was not willing to give up on him yet.

Quickly she turned and began to run, searching frantically for one of his friends' dens, or one of his friends if it were convenient enough to work that way, but she had no idea where they lived or where they may be at this time of day.

But she was determined.

She continued her search, catching curious glances from passers-by, but ignored them, for the only thing that mattered to her right now was finding her friend.

Then finally, just as she was about ready to give up, she found the three of them gathered at the top of a a shallow hill; as to why they were there, she did not care, just so long as she found them.

"Salty, Shakey, Mooch," she called, beginning to ascend the hill.

The three turned to her surprised.

"Kate, what are you doing out here?" Salty asked her.

"I was looking for Humphrey," she replied as calmly as she could, "have you seen him?"

The three turned to each other as if for council, then Salty turned forward to Kate once again.

"We were actually up here waiting for him," Shakey replied, "he told us yesterday to meet him here about two hours after sunrise, but he hasn't shown up yet."

"Yeah," Mooch continued, "which is weird because he's always on time."

These words were to Kate what an innocent man hears when he is found guilty of murder, and they slugged her so hard in the gut that she thought she would be sick. Tears filled her eyes and she staggered a few steps backward.

"Are you okay?" Salty asked, seeing her reaction.

Kate did not reply and quickly turned away, bolting down the hill and heading back toward home.

"Kate!" Salty called after her, "Kate what's wrong!"

But she did not stop.

Salty turned to Shakey and Mooch with a look of bewilderment plastered on his face.

"Was it something we said?" he asked them perturbed.

They replied with a shrug.

"I don't like this," Salty said and began to make his way down the hill, following her.

"Where ya goin?" Mooch called after him.

Salty turned his head, but did not pause.

"I'm following her," he replied, "something is wrong here, really wrong, and we're gonna find out what."

Α&Ω

"Eve?" Winston said hesitantly, placing the bowl down beside her, "I uh... I brought you some water."

Eve did not expect to hear his voice and immediately removed her foreleg from across her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him flatly, turning her eyes away so that she wasn't looking at him.

"Eve, I know you probably don't want to see me right now," Winston began slowly, "and you have every right in the world to be mad at me, but could you please give me a chance to talk to you?"

Eve kept her eyes away from him.

"Eve, there are not enough words to express how sorry I am for what happened last night," he said sincerely, "and not a single excuse to justify my actions, but-"

"Then why did you do it?" she interrupted bitterly.

"I was a fool, alright," Winston answered desperately, "I was stupid, I drank too much and I lost my head, but please God, Eve, I'm begging you, don't make me lose you too. You are everything to me."

"That still doesn't change what happened," she replied, "the kiss I can forgive, but you hit me, Winston, you raised your paw to your own wife, and that is inexcusable."

Winston said nothing, for what more could he honestly say, because she was absolutely right. Anything else he said would sound like a lie, and he knew that saying he was sorry again would only make the situation worse, so he was on the ropes here with no way out.

"Now if you would be so kind-"

"He's gone!" they heard Kate suddenly cry and turned to see her rush into the den.

"Who's gone?" Eve asked, rolling to her paws.

"Humphrey!" Kate replied hysterically, tears rolling down her face, "he's gone!"


	4. The Things Taken for Granted

**Chapter 4: The Things Taken for Granted**

"What do you mean he's gone?" Winston asked as Eve tried to calm her down.

"I w-went to find h-im this morning, and he wasn't there," she choked, wiping her eyes with the side of her paw.

"Baby, he's probably somewhere inside the park," Eve tried to comfort.

"N-no," Kate replied quickly, "he told m-me yesterday that he w-was l-leaving the park. I- I didn't t-think he was actu-aly gonna do it, but- he's gone and- and it's all my fault!"

She broke down and began to sob once more, burying her face into Eve's shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay, baby," Eve crooned, rubbing the back of her head slowly.

"No," Kate cried, "he's gone, and I- I didn't even get to apologize."

"What would you have to apologize for?" Eve asked, "you didn't-"

"Don't you get it!" Kate yelled, ripping herself away from her, "he loved me for who I was, not because he had to, and I took him for granted! I still treated him like dirt."

"Kate, he was well aware of the laws, as are you," Winston said to her.

Kate suppressed a growl, for the word "laws" seemed to drill into her head like nails on a chalkboard, stirring her rage and her bitterness.

"And despite them, I still love him," she said confidently, turning her watery eyes between them.

The two stared at her in shock, both of them not entirely sure if they had heard right, and it was at that moment that the three omegas arrived, though they kept their distance as they were not permitted into the den.

"Is everything alright?" Salty asked them, "I heard somebody yell."

"Please, Salty," Winston said moving his eyes beyond Kate to him, "a little bit of time."

Salty and the others behind him nodded and walked away even though none of their questions had been answered.

"Please you have to help me find him," Kate pleaded to her parents, "he'll never make it on his own."

"Kate," Winston began, returning his attention to his daughter, "I know he's your friend and you're concerned, but alphas don't love omegas, it's against-"

"Pack law?" Kate demanded passionately, "to hell with the laws, they're all a load of crap!"

This took both parents by complete surprise, for they had never expected this from Kate.

"Don't say that, Kate," Eve warned, "you kn-"

"No," she yelled, turning a ferocious glare to her mother, "the laws are wrong. How is it that a law can dictate who you can and can't love? I don't love Garth, I love Humphrey, and I'm going to find him, whether you guys like it or not."

"Kate, you're way out of line," Winston seethed, stepping forward.

"The only thing that I see out of line here is the leadership," Kate said dryly and turned away.

"Kate you stop right there," Winston snarled, but Kate took no heed to his word.

"Kate," Winston called again, "Kate don't you dare walk away from me, Kate!"

He moved to follow her, but Eve intercepted him.

"Let her go," she said to him, "she just needs a little time."

Kate sniffled as she walked down the ramp, and once she reached the bottom, she turned her eyes up to see Humphrey's friends waiting there.

"Is everything alright?" Salty asked her.

She sniffled and turned to them.

"Just fine," she replied, drying her eyes, "if you needed to see my dad, you can go on up."

With that said, she began to walk slowly away with no real destination in mind just so long as she could end her woe once she got there.

The three omegas watched her go then turned to each other quizzically, but none of them had an answer to the question they asked, so without a word, they began to ascend the ramp, turned once to regard Kate a final time, then continued on their way.

A&Ω

Winston paced the floor tumultuously, his ears flat and his head low.

"Omegas and alphas, alphas and omegas," he muttered to himself, "it just doesn't work, it can't work."

"I'm sure she didn't mean it," Eve reasoned, "she was just flustered is all."

"Eve, she meant every word," Winston said, pausing and turning to her, "we have to put a stop to this before she gets herself in trouble."

"What's the worst thing that could happen?" Eve asked him.

"Did you not hear a word she said?" Winston demanded, "she threatened to leave, do you know what that will do to the unification? We haven't even decided what we are going to call the new pack and it's already about to fall apart again."

"Uh, Winston sir?" Salty called from outside the den.

"Salty," Winston said in surprise and turned to him, "what do you want, we're kinda busy."

"Answers, man," he replied, "what's this I hear about Humphrey leaving the park?"

"The truth," Eve replied, "he's gone."

"Gone?" Salty asked in shock, "but why?"

"You got me," Winston answered, turning away, "but Kate insists on going after him."

"Then we'll all go," Mooch said, stepping up so that he stood beside Salty, "after all I'm sure she'll-"

"No," Winston interrupted firmly, "nobody is going anywhere."

"But, sir, Humphrey-"

"Humphrey made his decision," Winston interjected, "nobody else is to leave, hear?" He turned away from them. "And if any of you do, don't think about coming back."

The three did not know what to say, as they had always known Winston to be the compassionate and understanding type, but something about this whole situation was upsetting him, the only problem was, they didn't know what it was.

"That'll be all," Winston said dismissively, walking further into the den.

Bitter that not a single one of their questions was answered, the three turned and plodded away.

"This is madness," Salty mused to the others in aggravation, "Humphrey is gone and Winston won't do anything about it. It's like he doesn't even care that he's gone."

"Why would he?" Mooch replied with a scoff, "we're just omegas. To them we're all expendable."

Salty shook his head and sat himself down once they reached the base of the ramp.

"Well... what are we gonna do?" Shakey asked the others, turning his eyes between them.

"I don't know, Shakey," Salty replied dismally, lowering his head and flattening his ears, "I just don't know."

Α&Ω

Kate sat down beside the creek and cursed, slamming her paw down into the mud. She felt dirty, sad, alone, and she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do because no matter what she chose, somebody would get hurt.

But she had to face him. She had to tell him how stupid she had been, how negligent she was of her feelings and how she wished that she could have been have awakened from her delusions before something like this happened.

She cursed again and stared at her reflection in the water, but she hated who she saw, so she slapped it with her paw, scattering it about in hundreds of little ripples and droplets.

A snap of a twig brought her eyes to the woods across the river and she saw a figure emerging slowly from the shadows, recognizing it immediately to be her new mate.

She suppressed a growl upon seeing him, but something about the way he carried himself intrigued her, for he looked as though he were experiencing something similar to what she was. What she didn't understand, though, was what or why.

Α&Ω

Garth kept his eyes fixed upon the ground and came to a rest at the edge of the creek, slowly taking a seat on his haunches. Unaware that he had an audience less than three feet away, he began to sob.

A&Ω

Kate was astounded when she saw him break down that way, but was still at a loss as to why he would be acting this way; after all, he was the one who seemed to be so stoked about their betrothal. Curious, she continued to watch, but did not receive any answers, for Garth quickly regained control of himself and wiped his eyes, but when he looked across the creek and found that he was not alone, he locked up.

"Kate?" Garth asked from across the brook, "what are you doing here?"

"Probably the same as you," she replied dryly.

Garth's face began to heat up.

"I- uh... my dad told me uh, that you and I needed to dig a den," he stammered, wiping his eyes again, "since we're supposed to be... together."

"Oh," Kate replied, lowering her eyes to her paws, "you uh... you seem upset," she observed, drumming her pads nervously, "is- is everything alright?"

"Oh yeah," Garth lied, "just fine on my end, just uh... thought I would take a moment to think here."

"Oh," Kate said flatly, "me too. So... what's on your mind?"

Garth did not want to tell her about how he had fallen for her sister through fear that she actually cared about him, so he hesitated as he tried to formulate a reply.

"Nothing," he said, lowering his head slightly, "still just trying to wrap my head around all of this, it all happened so fast."

"Yeah," Kate agreed monotonously, "me too."

Garth sucked in a breath between his teeth.

"So... how's life?" he asked her awkwardly.

"Peachy," she answered flatly, "how bout you?"

"Same."

"Good," Kate said halfheartedly.

"Yup," he replied, "so uh... do I have permission to come across?"

"The packs are united, Garth," she said testily, "of course you do."

Garth nodded and jumped over the tiny creek, landing beside her.

"So... you have any special spots that you like?" he asked her, trying to sound interested his coerced partner's own interests.

"Why?" she asked, "got something planned.

"No," he replied, his eyes darting about anxiously, "I just figured that the den should go somewhere you liked."

"Oh," she said, averting her eyes to her paws, "sorry I snapped at you."

"It's alright," he said dismissively, forcing a smile, "it's just that you remind me a lot of your mom... and she frightens me."

Despite herself, Kate chuckled.

"She frightens all," she agreed, but the negative atmosphere which had been briefly dispersed, settled in upon them once more, causing their smiles to fade.

"Well," Garth began, hoping to get his mind to focus on something else, "I guess we'd better get a move on."

Kate agreed with a silent nod and fell in at his side, but not too close, just close enough to where if anybody were to see them, they would at least look like a couple, then the two began to walk silently back toward the nesting area.

I do apologize for the brevity of these chapters for this story. Hopefully as the plot develops they will get longer.


	5. Life of a Loner

**Chapter 5: The Life of a Loner**

**In answer to all bark and no bite, she certainly is not. She just didn't want to cause a bigger scene than the one they had already created. I'll handle this whole thing later.**

Driven mad by the recent famine, Humphrey was now willing to do anything to get some form of sustenance to his agonized belly. So desperate was he for a meal that he picked through the hay for even the tiniest of insects, but these were not enough to satisfy. He needed something with some meat in order to please his ailing stomach. In the time that had passed since his recent attempt to catch the mouse, he had seen it poke its head out from the crack into which it had disappeared, but each time those beady black eyes fell upon Humphrey, it would quickly shoot backwards and out of sight.

Humphrey needed to formulate some sort of plan if he were to succeed in his attempts to catch this mouse, so, after about the fifth time he watched it dart back into the crack, he focused all of his attention on figuring the simplest and fastest route to what would hopefully be his first meal in about five days.

He paced the floor, considering his options and making guesses as to how likely it would be for each option to yield a profitable outcome, then, after about five minutes, he decided to put his first plan into action.

He theorized that if he were to wait beside the hole, then maybe he could catch the mouse with his paw as it poked its head out. He was uncertain as to how well this would work, seeing as the place where he would hide offered him only the briefest of windows before his discovery, but as far as he figured, it was his best chance, so he was going to take it and hope for the best.

Taking careful deliberation in his footfalls, Humphrey crept toward the wall of the train car, taking extra care to make certain that his progression was as quiet as the animal he hunted, and once he got to the wall, he turned so that his body rested along its face. Now came the time for the waiting game. Quietly he lifted his paw above the hole so that when the mouse again poked its head from inside of it, he could smash its skull, and held this position, waiting patiently for his next opportunity to arise.

Though his body was at rest, his heart raced and his suspended paw shook violently, but he knew not why. He could not tell if he was nervous or if he was excited, but in the end he concluded that it was probably a little bit of both.

He labored meticulously over his breathing and attempted to retard the rate of his heart, for he knew that absolute silence was vital to the success of this mission, but kept his eyes and forethought focused on the hole beneath his paw so that when the moment came he would be ready.

The minute droned away into three, which then lengthened into five and still there was not a sign of his prey, but just when he was on the threshold of giving up and trying a different tactic, he heard a faint rustle and scratch near the entrance of the crack, but the mouse remained in the void, perhaps sensing that something was wrong and hesitating so that it may identify the change in its environment and deem it a hazard to its life. Humphrey held his breath, fighting to arrest his trembling paw, and praying that his heart wasn't beating as loud as he thought it was, and then from out of the void, a nose appeared, followed shortly thereafter by a pair of eyes and finally a head.

This was it.

The mouse's little nose twitched tumultuously as it sniffed the wood before its hole, and its large ears flicked about like tiny radars, scanning the area for any foreign interlopers which may wish to cause it harm.

Humphrey waited for the mouse to turn its head toward him so that its shoulders were revealed to give him a larger target, then as the mouse turned, Humphrey made his move.

He lashed downward with his paw, startling the unsuspecting mouse, but as it made contact with the floor, he found that he had missed and that the mouse had ducked safely back into its hole once more.

Irritated at his second failure, Humphrey cursed and slashed the floor with his claws then moved away from the wall.

"Amazing," he muttered to himself, "can't even manage to catch a stupid mouse."

He sighed and regarded the hole with callous eyes then turned away.

Time for Plan B.

A&Ω

Despite the laborious task of locating a decent spot then helping to dig her and Garth's den, Kate still found her mind drifting away from the job at hand and to Humphrey. She wondered where he was, what he was doing, how he was feeling, and she worried about his safety. She wondered if she would ever see him again, wondered if he even wanted to see her again, and sadly wouldn't blame him if he didn't. She wondered if he was still on the train, how far he had gone and how much further still he would travel. She wondered if he missed her as badly as she missed him, but above everything, she wondered if he even wanted her to look for him.

"Woah, Kate, wake up!" Garth yelled and pulled her by her hide backward and out of the way of the rubble that fell to the ground.

Kate, now realizing that she had wandered, was slapped in the face by the realization that she almost lost her life, then lowered her eyes in shame.

"Sorry," she apologized, turning to Garth with a distant gaze, "guess I drifted off."

"I'll say," Garth mused, a hint of mock in his tone.

Kate turned wordlessly and went back to work, trying to fix her blunder, but Garth could tell that she was doing so halfheartedly due to the seemingly mechanical motion of her body.

"Kate, what's troubling you?" he asked her, "you've been vague all day, like you're just not in it."

"I don't know," Kate replied, ceasing to dig and turning to him, "it's just that seemingly everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong and I don't know what I can do to fix it."

Garth sat down before her and gestured with his paw for her to join him.

"I'm all ears," he stated invitingly.

Kate reluctantly conceded and took a seat before him.

"Well... it's just that... Humphrey was a good friend of mine and I treated him like dirt," she began, "I always put myself above him and pushed him aside like trash and now that I realize what I've done it's already too late. I've already driven him out of the park, probably for good, and on top of that my parents are fighting."

Garth nodded.

"Yes, I wondered why your dad passed out in my dad's den last night," he mused, "but he never told me why. Would you like to continue?"

Kate lowered her eyes to her paws.

"Yeah," she answered flatly, tempting her eyes toward Garth's face once again, "and now that Humphrey is gone, I seem to be the only one who cares. I told my parents and they shrugged it off like he meant nothing, but he means something to me, I-"

She stopped herself realizing that she was getting carried away, but she knew that she had said too much, so she lowered her eyes, subjecting herself to the imminent question.

"You what?" Garth asked her, cocking his head to the side.

Kate lowered her head further and felt hot tears begin to sting her eyes.

"I'm sorry Garth," she choked and bolted away from him.

Garth, fearing that he had upset her, rose immediately to follow her.

"Kate," he called, but she did not stop.

He sped up and cut her off, causing Kate to slam her forepaws into the ground and skid to a halt.

"Kate what are you doing?" he asked, but instead of answering she brushed past him, "Kate talk to me," he said, grabbing her shoulder with his paw and turning her to face him.

With a passion birthed by her anger and woe, she tore herself free from his paw and stepped toward him, putting her nose so close to his that they nearly touched.

"I can't do this, alright!" she yelled, "I can't play this stupid game any longer."

"Kate, what do you mean?" Garth asked her confused.

She locked her jaw, on the verge of exploding, but after a moment, she relaxed and lowered her head.

"Nothing," she replied monotonously and turned away from him, "just forget it, forget it. It doesn't matter anyway."

Garth stepped forward so that he stood at her side.

"Kate I-"

"Please, Garth," Kate begged, "just leave me alone."

Garth did not know what to do so he sat down, and as he did so, Kate began to walk off. Garth wanted to follow her, but he knew that doing so would only make the matter worse, so he watched her go, and once she was out of sight, turned away.

A&Ω

Humphrey watched the crack intently from atop his perch, ready to pounce upon the mouse like a cat once it ventured forth into the middle of the car.

He did not know why he had thought of this, because the stack of hay bales on which he lay were anything but stable, but he had committed far too much into this plan to back out now, and besides, his stomach was quite convincing when it told him to partake hazardous activities in order to get a mean into it.

And there he lay in wait, his eyes open and his ears alert, but was otherwise motionless.

He dreamed about how delicious the mouse would be, how its little bones would crack between his teeth, how quenching the blood would be as it seeped down his throat. Just the thought made him begin to salivate, and his desire for food quickly transformed into a craving. The flesh would be tender, the juices sweet, and how he could just picture how it would feel to have the tail squirm violently between his lips.

The mouse, however, was not so keen to show itself again seeing as that the last time it breeched beyond the safety of the crack, it narrowly escaped with its life.

The minutes wasted slowly away and still the mouse remained inside of the crack. Humphrey was beginning to grow impatient and wished now that he had some means of luring the mouse out of the crack with some form of bait, but he had nothing, so all he could do was grit his teeth and bear the agonizing torture of waiting with the hope that it would soon pay off.

Twenty minutes passed and still nothing.

Deciding to call it quits, Humphrey rolled his eyes in aggravation and pressed himself to his paws, but as he moved, the muscles in his legs wrenched themselves into clenching knots, refusing to allow him to move any further. Having been so suddenly assailed by the pain, Humphrey yelped and threw himself down onto the hay, but as soon as his body hit, the unstable stack was knocked off of its fragile point of equilibrium and began to tilt toward the opening of the train car.


	6. Closer and Closer to Collapse

**Chapter 6: Closer and Closer to Collapse**

The only thing that Humphrey could do was close his eyes and brace himself for what he knew was about to happen.

He felt the hay bale turn onto its side beneath him then felt his body's unity with it leave. He was airborne for about two seconds, but to him it felt like two minutes, which seemed to give him time to process what had happened. Knowing that he was likely to be seriously injured or perhaps even killed if he didn't, he turned his body so that when he did inevitably crash to the floor, he would do so on his shoulder, and then finally the moment came. He landed hard on his right shoulder and immediately cried out in pain, then bounced, turning on his pivotal point until he landed again on his opposite shoulder. After this bounce, he again became airborne, but this time it was different. He seemed to be traveling backward at the force of a brutal headwind, indicating to him that his worst fear had become a reality. He had fallen out of the train. He turned once again in the air, hoping that wherever he landed next would be out of the path of the train which roared only about a foot away from his helpless body, and finally crashed to the ground once more. Lucky for him, though, he landed on a downward slope, which carried him away from the certain doom that he would have met by the train, but at the same time, subjected him to yet another painful spell of bounces.

He landed on his back, slamming his head onto the ground, turned over his right shoulder, became airborne again, then struck again on his left.

Such a brutal fall should have killed him by all accounts, and would have had he not been fortunate enough to be knocked unconscious by the next blow, thus allowing his limp body to complete the remaining run of the hill without a tensing muscle to pull on and snap his bones or to rupture under the strain of the many impacts.

Humphrey rolled down the hill for another five feet or so then leveled off and finally came to rest in the cover of the area's tall native grasses where he lay unmoving, his body sprawled about on its left side, while the train carried itself further and further down the line, completely unaware that it was now one passenger short.

A&Ω

Lilly, who had hidden out near Howling Rock the previous night in order to avoid the party, now sat alone on the rim of the valley, staring down at its many occupants and watching as they went about so carelessly with their lives.

She could not deny that she was envious of their happiness, how simple their lives were, how perfect everything seemed to be. She gazed upon the lovers with a sort of loathing that is borne only by failure at forbidden love, and cursed softly anything and everything that there was to curse. She cursed the law, she cursed her parents for abiding by such a law, she cursed Tony for all the recent trouble he caused, Kate for stealing the love of her life, Garth for stealing her heart, and she cursed herself for allowing him to despite her better judgement.

She wondered if, in the wake of the party and amongst the probable disorientation of the new alliance, her absence was even recognized.

She sincerely doubted it. After all, Kate was the only one her parents really paid attention to because she was the alpha, while she always hid unrecognized in her shadow.

She sighed and began to wonder if there was even anything left for her here. Many times before she had considered running away, or simply taking her own life, but then she was swept off of her paws by the wolf of her dreams. He gave her a reason to stay, gave her a reason to live, but now that he was gone, she had nothing but an empty heart, a hollow soul, and a cold, callous reminder of what could have been to dig at her woe.

Just the thought of Kate and Garth made her sick, even though she knew and understood the reason why they had to wed, but that was still not enough to appease her aching heart. She still loved him and it still hurt.

She did not realize that she had tears in her eyes until she blinked and her vision was suddenly compromised by a blurry veil. Upon such a realization, she sniffed, wiped her eyes with the side of her paw, then rose from her haunches. It was at this moment that she allowed her eyes to regard the brim of the valley upon which she stood. It was a straight shot at least forty feet from where she was perched to the valley floor, just what she would need. She closed her eyes again and stepped closer to the edge, feeling her heart rate increase as her body and mind screamed in protest against what she was considering, but she pressed forward, shuffling her paws, inching closer and closer.

Tears began to pour down her face and she sniffled, trying to convince herself that it was better this way, then stopped and opened her eyes. She now stood on the valley's most extreme rim, with only an inch between her and her fate. She swallowed and looked down one more time, then closed her eyes.

She lifted one of her paws and held it over the side, preparing for her end, but then the ground began to crumble beneath her. She gasped, feeling her stomach jump into her throat and began to fall, but miraculously, she saved herself and immediately pulled herself away from the edge. She scrambled backward and sat down about six feet away from it and wrapped her tail tightly around her body, but her eyes never left the edge of the valley. She realized now what she had attempted to do and realized when she began to fall that she did not want to die, but was traumatized severely by what she had just done, so she broke down and began to sob loudly, wrapping her tail tighter around her body as a means of providing a meager amount of comfort for herself.

Her breath quivered and her stomach churned, her body shook and she felt faint, distant, like she was standing somewhere outside of herself. It seemed to her as though all actions her body took were now mechanical and entirely beyond her control. She blinked the tears from her eyes, but could not comprehend that she had done so, rose to her paws, and began to walk, almost in a daze. She did not know where she was going or why and could barely process that she had left. She staggered as she walked, like a caribou fawn testing out its legs for the first time, and before she knew it, she was addressed by a stern voice.

"Lilly, where have you been?" Eve asked her firmly, shaking her from her trance.

Lilly, upon being granted freedom from her hypnosis, blinked and suddenly regained all attributes, both mental and physical, that she had lost in lee of her attempted suicide. She realized immediately that she had returned to her den, but could not remember how she had gotten there, and picked up soon after on her mother's piercing scowl.

"I asked you a question," Eve seethed, "where have you been?"

Lilly blinked and lowered her eyes.

"Around, I guess," she answered softly.

"Since last night?" Eve asked incredulously.

Lilly nodded, keeping her eyes on the floor.

"Then why didn't you come home?" she pressed.

"Fell asleep." Lilly replied.

Eve nodded, though she knew that she was hiding something from her, but she figured that whatever it was, it was not so severe that it could not wait to be attended to, at least until things settled down with her, Winston, and Kate.

"Well... just so long as you're okay," she assured, pulling her in for a hug, "why don't you go get cleaned up and we'll find you some breakfast."

Lilly nodded, returning the hug then pulled away.

"Okay," she said, forcing a smile then turned.

"Eve watched her go for a moment then called to her.

"By the way, I like what you're doing with your fur," she complimented, "it's a good look for you."

Lilly turned to her, thanked her halfheartedly, then continued out of the den, on the verge of tears once more.

Eve did not know what to make of any of this. Kate was depressed because Humphrey was gone, so much so that she got the delusion that she loved him, and now Lilly was the same way, but why? Two and two just didn't fit like it usually did.

She mulled this thought over in her mind for a matter of several minutes, but she just could not make the connection, either that or her mind refused to allow her to.

A&Ω

"So how is the situation with the wife?" Tony asked Winston.

"I'm pretty well in the doghouse," he replied, "but it looks to me like she's going to give me another chance."

Tony nodded.

"You're lucky that she didn't rip you apart after what you did," he commented, moving his eyes away.

"I know," he replied, lowering his eyes to his paws, "she probably didn't want to make the matter worse."

Tony nodded again.

"Makes sense," he said.

"Yup," Winston answered.

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two which was finally broken by Tony.

"You know that was not a good thing you did," he said seriously, "and you're quite lucky that she is even allowing you another chance."

"I know," Winston agreed, lowering his head in shame, "I just don't know what came over me."

"Hey, we all lose our heads sometimes," he condoled, "and it's partially my fault. I should have cut you off long before things got out of hand."

Winston shook his head.

"Now don't go blaming yourself for this," he said to him, "I know my limits and should have abided by them. No one else is to blame except for me."

Tony nodded, respecting his view on the matter, then turned his attention forward.

"So how are we going to handle this?" Winston asked, breaking the silence again.

"Handle what?"

"The unification proceedings."

"Oh," Tony said, flattening his ears as he thought, "We need to call a meeting," he suggested, "gather all members from both former packs and we'll do it democratically."

Winston nodded.

"Sounds good to me," he agreed, "when and where do you wanna do this?"

Tony cocked his head, thinking.

"How bout your territory at sundown, under that giant rock you do your speeches on?" he suggested.

"Perfect," Winston concurred.

A&Ω

Kate was steaming.

Any and all anger that she was capable of conjuring was now flooding into her head, breaking the banks in her veins, blackening the thoughts in her mind.

Nobody cared about Humphrey, not a single **** person, nobody cared about her, nobody supported her, and they called her crazy when she told them the truth. All her parents saw her as was a tool that they could use for any sort of arbitrary deed they willed and she was not to wonder why. Do as you are told, without question, without protest, sell yourself to the will of the pack and its leaders, love as they tell you, live as they tell you, and if need be, die as they tell you.

She growled under her breath and slashed a tree with her claws then sat down, lowering her head. Nobody listened, nobody saw the pain that the unification caused, not only for her and for Humphrey, but for her parents, and even for Garth.

She lifted her head and allowed her eyebrows to stitch together in a sinister scowl of rage.

No more.

This was ending right now.

With determination and the deepest passion, she rose to her feet and began to storm her way back toward the center of her territory. She didn't know how she was going to do it, but the truth needed to be told.

I will be bumping the rating of this story from K+ to T from this point on guys, just letting y'all know


	7. Fate's Fickle Hand

Chapter 7: Fate's Fickle Hand

By the time Kate had reached the main grounds of her home, she realized that something big was about to happen, for a mass had begun to gather near the base of her father's speech rock. She cared not to question what the gathering was about, but was grateful nonetheless for its presence because it further positioned her for what she was about to do. Attempting to draw as little attention to herself as possible to avoid being apprehended before she could reach the podium, Kate gave the majority of the crowd a wide birth, but it wasn't enough to avoid the ever watchful eye of her father.

"Kate," he called to her.

Kate heard, but ignored his call and set her eyes upon her objective which now lay only feet away from her.

Winston, seeing her intent focus on the speech rock, rose quickly to stop her, but Kate must have predicted such an action, for she took off in a dead sprint for his podium, catching the eyes of many others, but the reason why remained a mystery to them.

Winston took immediate action and moved to intercept her, but Kate leapt up onto its first ledge and began to climb, making quick work of its face and cresting its top in a matter of seconds.

"Everyone listen," she called over the group, silencing their confused babble.

Winston, being considerably older than Kate, was only a quarter of the way up with yet a long distance to climb.

"Are alphas and omegas really so different?" she asked them firmly, "we are all wolves, we all live, we all bleed, we all hurt, and we all love."

She paused, turning to gauge her father's progress, then returned her attention to the group below.

"I'm done with the lies and I'm done playing these stupid games," she yelled, "I love an omega, not Garth, and I don't give a damn about what the law says."

This statement brought about a gasp and an uproarious outburst from the gathering below.

"Love is not dictated by laws," she declared over the noise of the crowd, "nor is it dictated by social class, and I say that if an alpha loves an omega then dammit let them marry. What say you!"

The crowd fell silent as she finished and Kate watched them in great suspense, for this moment was absolutely crucial. She needed to know if she was captivating them.

However, she captivated them in a way that she had not intended.

There was a snigger from one individual which spread like a virus to the next until the entire crowd was alive with uproarious fits of hysteria.

Kate felt her heart drop then felt a paw land on her shoulder. She needed not to turn to see who it was, or what his intention was when he began to attempt to drag her away.

"No please you have to listen," she pleaded, struggling against Winston, "we don't have to be this way! Let me go!" she cried, failing yet again to pull free from his grasp.

Winston growled at her and began to drag her down the face of the formation.

"Kate, you have-"

"I agree with her!" a voice yelled over the laughter and chaos, causing it to immediately subside and all occupants turned to face the voice's owner.

"I agree with her," Garth said firmly, though he had to swallow at a nervous lump in his throat, "I don't love her," he stated, "I love Lilly."

Winston ignored him and continued to pull Kate away, kicking and screaming, so much to the point that his words went completely unheard by her, and Tony began to do the same to his son.

"You're both mad!" Tony yelled to Garth, dragging him roughly through the crowd.

Garth struggled against his father's might, but found himself merciless to his strength, despite the bad disk in his back.

"You two are married and you two are gonna stay that way," Tony growled, dragging him away, "we've worked too long and too hard to bring peace between us and I'll not have you f***ing it up!"

"Lilly!" Garth called over the entropy which surrounded him, "Lilly!"

But unbeknownst to him, the mass was one wolf short and would forever be, for earlier that day, when nobody was looking, she slipped away from the packs and ventured forth into the unclaimed territories beyond the borders.

A&Ω

"Kate just what in the hell do you think you were doing!" Winston yelled to his defiant daughter, who stood before him, glaring with a rim of tears glistening in her eyes.

"What I should have done a long time ago," she replied dryly, "even if it kills me, I'll make sure that nobody has to feel the pain that I feel ever again."

Winston growled.

"You've defied me, your pack, and you've defied the entire foundation upon which we were built!" he barked, stepping closer, "if you were anybody else I would have killed you for this! This is treason!"

"So what!" Kate cried, "I've done nothing wrong, unless you want to take away from me my right to speak freely. Is that it? Control the mouth, control the population? Everybody has a say, but God forbid somebody says something you don't like-"

"Don't push me, Kate," Winston seethed, his body trembling with rage.

"Why?" she asked sternly, "You gonna hit me like you did to mom?"

Winston snarled and lifted his paw in the air, but Kate remained firm, not even blinking. He paused for a moment, suspending his paw in the air, but then bellowed out a scream and brought his paw slamming into the wall of his den and turned away from her.

"You turn against your own pack, your own family?" he asked her, now more distraught then angry, "You're not my daughter. I never wanna see you again."

These words impacted Kate like a hammer to her heart and she felt new tears begin to sting her eyes.

"Dad-" Kate pleaded to him desperately.

"Get out of here!" he screamed, whipping around and grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and throwing her out of the den.

Kate landed hard on her side and lifted her front half off of the ground, meeting her tear glazed eyes with his.

"Dad-"

He regarded her for the briefest of moments, then shook his head, turned away and stormed deeper into the den, leaving her alone out on its stoop.

Kate, driven mad with grief, found running away to be the only rational action at this moment, so she pulled herself to her paws and began to sprint down the ramp, sobbing loudly as she ran.

Just as she was reaching the bottom, Eve was beginning to make her ascent, but paused when she saw her daughter running toward her.

"Kate, what's-"

But Kate blew right past her and kept going without so much as an acknowledgement of her presence.

"Kate!" she called, but when she was again ignored, she turned her eyes up the ramp toward her home, being struck by an ominous sense of foreboding.

Apprehensive about what the future may hold, she made quick work of the ramp and entered her den, finding Winston to be sitting in the back of their home with his back facing her.

"Winston," Eve called to him, but he remained inert, his only motion being the steady rise and fall of his shoulders from his breaths.

Eve chanced to venture further into the den.

"Winston, I couldn't find Lilly anywhere," she began, "but what was that all about? What happened to Kate?"

"She is not my daughter anymore," he said to her monotonously, remaining motionless, "not after that."

"You disowned your own daughter?" she demanded, "Winston how-"

"I'm done playing these games of hers!" he yelled, whipping around to face her, "I'm sick of the defiance, I'm sick of the trouble she has been causing, and I'm sick of her."

"Winston she is still our daughter," Eve begged, "you can't-"

"It's already been done," he said to her flatly.

Eve's look of concern faded into a bitter scowl.

"What will happen now, huh?" she demanded, "this whole pack is falling apart around us and we haven't even been united for a full day! Kate is the only one who can keep the peace between our packs. Please, be reasonable."

"Reasonable?" Winston growled, "listen to yourself! Listen to what she said! Everybody knows that their marriage will never work now! We're sunk, Eve, sunk!"

"Then meet with Tony and find another way," she suggested, "but please, you can't just shut Kate away like this. I don't blame her for being angry. I mean did you ever once ask her what she wanted, or did you do all of her decision making for her?"

"I'm not the only one who did," Winston reminded, "you are just as guilty as I am, and besides, what she wants is nothing short of a revolution."

Eve flattened her ears and sighed then met his eyes once again, having grown weary of the discussion.

"I'll address the pack and try to settle things down," she said to him, "but you have to go find her. I have a bad feeling about her being out all alone."

"All she needs is-"

"Dammit will you ever just listen to me!" Eve yelled, getting up in his face, "she needs you now more than she ever did, and if you don't go to her, you may never see her again, now I'm not asking you anymore, I'm telling you, GO TO HER!"

A&Ω

The sun's rosy face was now barely visible above the mountain range to the west, casting the last of its purple rays upon the park before it would duck behind the horizon, taking what remained of its light with it.

Kate continued to run through the dusk with no true destination in mind, but when she snagged her paw on a protruding root and fell to the ground, she decided that she had traveled far enough and broke down and began to sob.

All of this was her fault, the responsibility for every ounce of pain that everybody felt rested solely upon her shoulders, and the anger, the humiliation and the resentment that she felt was hers to burden, pressing down upon her like a weight that she was forced to carry and crushing her with its immensity.

She had so many conflicting emotions clashing about in her head. One moment she would be angry because nobody supported her and they all laughed at her, but then she would grow sad because she had been disowned by her own father, then she lost all feelings of self-worth by telling herself that she was nothing here and she had nothing left for her here, which eventually drew her to this question: What did she have left to live for?

She had betrayed her heart and in consequence, the one she truly loved was gone forever. Adding further to her emotional afflictions, was the pit of self-loathing that she felt deep in the base of her stomach. She hated herself for what she was and what she had done to those she cared about, she despised her foolishness, and she abhorred her arrogance; but quite soon none of it was going to matter anymore, for quite soon, she decided, she would rid the world of her disease.

She felt her heart rate skyrocket and felt her stomach twist itself into tight knots, for her body now knew what she was planning and offered firm protest, but she had made her decision and nothing was going to sway that. Shakily she pressed herself to her paws and began to make her way to the railroad track.

A&Ω

Winston did not even know where to begin looking for his daughter, for he had never actually taken the time to really sit down and talk with her after her return from Alpha School, or even before Alpha School for that matter, so he had no idea where she liked to go. This was one of the many realizations he had on his search for Kate, and the longer he searched, the clearer things began to become for him. He hardly knew a thing about his daughter, and if anybody were to ask him about her and what her interests were, he would have no idea what to say to them, because he didn't know, because he never took the time to ask. The only thing that he had ever seemed to care about was the role that she would serve as an alpha and how she could play such a role to unite the East and the West.

Now he felt awful.

How many times had he actually told her he loved her? He could only recall a couple occasions, which he knew was nowhere near enough.

He sighed.

What kind of father was he?

How could he even call himself that? He knew he did not deserve the title. God there were so many things that he wished he could tell her now, so many things he would like to change. How he wished he could tell her how sorry he was for not listening to her, how much he truly loved her, and how different things would be now that he could finally see her world clearly, and how he wished he would have never gotten her into this mess in the first place.

With desperate eyes, he scanned the land before him, picking through the trees, peering through the grasses, and peeking around each large bolder he came across, but he just could not find her. He cursed and lowered his head, preparing to accept defeat.

Had he not done this, he might have missed one small detail that was crucial to his success in finding his daughter, for as he lowered his head, he allowed his eyes to close, setting him up to trip over the same root over which Kate had stumbled minutes ago. What led him so blindly down the same path she had taken remains a mystery, but when his paw became tangled in the root and he fell to the ground, he found himself to be laying before a faint blood trail.

He knew not whose blood he had found at first, but as a father, he had nursed a few of her wounds in his time, probably the only thing he had ever done right, and recognized the scent to be Kate's almost immediately.

He knew now that Fate was smiling upon him, for the blood trail indicated to him that she was not severely hurt, but it was sufficient enough to lead him straight to her. He'd better hurry.

A&Ω

Kate was so lost in her oscillating emotions that she did not even recognize that when she had fallen, she had gashed her leg on a stick, and only continued on her way toward the train tracks, oblivious of the pain. She had guessed that another train would be passing by the park shortly, and made haste to meet it before she lost her chance. She knew that she was being followed, for such an action would only make sense, but by who she had no idea, nor did she care just so long as it was not her father, because despite everything, she still loved him enough to want to spare him the pain of witnessing what she was about to do.

She crested a hill and took a moment to breathe and to assay the situation before continuing any further. She ran her eyes slowly over the land beneath her, watching both of her perpendicular vanishing points intently and listening keenly for the lonesome whistle which would signal the arrival of her fate, then began to make her way down the hill.

She had not travelled more than fifty feet when she heard the faint cry of the train and lifted her eyes to the track, now only a hundred yards away. To the left, she could see nothing, but to her right, she could see the dark plume of the coal train's smoke drawing near. Knowing that she had a limited window of time before the train passed, she quickened her pace slightly, approaching at a light jog. As she drew nearer to the tracks, her heart began to pound against the inside of her chest, almost to the point where she thought it would rupture, and she felt as though she would be sick, but she was not going to stop, for she had convinced herself already that this was the only thing left for her to do, and could only hope that in her death, she could breathe new life into the pack.

She reached the tracks with time to spare, the train being about a half mile away from her current location, and stood in their center, facing the oncoming locomotive with teary, yet bold eyes. She could feel the vibrations in the tracks increase as the train drew slowly nearer to her and heard two blasts of its whistle, signaling to her that the driver had seen her and was trying to frighten her away to avoid hitting her, but she was not going to move, nor was the train going to stop, for stopping so suddenly at the speed at which it traveled would be a lot more costly than the life of one foolish wolf.

Kate breathed hard, sniffling a couple of times, for her body screamed at her that it did not want to die, but her mind was set, willing it to remain despite its greatest protest. Her legs shook and tears rolled through the fur on her her cheeks, and still the train drew closer, now barreling toward her at a closing distance of an eighth of a mile.

A&Ω

Winston panted breathlessly as he followed her blood trail to the top of the hill then paused to rest and to evaluate the lay of the land beneath him, hoping that from this vantage point, he could spot his daughter before he lost her yet again, for the trail was thinning. However, it did not take him long, for there she was, two hundred yards beneath him, standing directly in the middle of the tracks. Winston's heart dropped and his stomach leapt into his throat and it was then that he saw the train.

"Kate no!"

A&Ω

Closer the train roared, its pilot trying desperately to frighten Kate from the tracks, but still she remained. As came natural when instinct told her she was in danger, the fur on her mane and back bristled on end, but even the innate will to live shared amongst all creatures could not convince her to leave. Over the wail of the whistle and the rattle of the tracks, she could hear the grind and groan of the steel wheels which churned restlessly toward her, seemingly eager to meet her flesh. Ready to accept her end, she closed her eyes.

A&Ω

Never before had Winston been so frightened, and never before had he run as fast as he did now. He took not the time to navigate down the hill, rather slid down its face, and now carried himself so swiftly across the earth that his paws barely contacted the ground.

"Kate!" he called desperately, closing in at one hundred yards.

A&Ω

Over the clatter and roar of the approaching train, Kate could almost swear that she heard a voice find purchase on her ears.

Curious, she allowed her eyes to peel themselves slowly open.

"Kate!" she heard.

"Dad?" she asked, turning to see him moving swiftly toward her.

"Kate move!" Winston begged.

Kate regarded him briefly, then turned to the front once more, seeing the train closing in at fifty yards.

"No Kate!" Winston pleaded, "please I'm sorry!"

The whistle cried again, pleading with her to move, but Kate simply turned to her father, sniffled, then looked him dead in his eyes.

"Me, too," she said to him.

Time at this moment seemed to slow down. Winston recalled crying out for her again as she sent out her final condolence, but had his voice choked inside of his throat upon seeing what happened next.

Kate's legs were clipped first by the train's plow and she became airborne for a brief moment before her back slammed into the face of the train. Kate was killed instantly at this moment, for as she struck, she had done so with such great force that nearly every bone in her body was either broken or smashed into meal. Her head whipped backward and struck the train, splitting open upon impact and spraying a sickly mixture of pink and crimson as its contents were sprayed all over the tracks, then her body reflected off of the face of the train and helicoptered backward, being overcome and then blocked from view by the many cars which lumbered quickly past.

"No!" Winston cried and rushed toward the train, but slammed his paws into the ground and slid to a stop, for the train had not yet finished passing him.

"Kate!" he screamed over the noise of the train which thundered past, trying to locate her in the gaps between the cars.

He stood, waiting desperately for it to pass, tears rolling down his face, then grew tired a of waiting and began to run parallel to the train in the direction opposite of it, and once he finally reached the caboose, he rounded the train and sprinted toward where he saw Kate go down.

"Kate!" he cried desperately.

In the back of his mind he knew she was dead, but he would not believe that until he saw it for himself. Hope told him that she was still alive somewhere out there, but his subconscious voice of reason spoke to him the undeniable truth.

So, blinded by his tears and his sorrow, he ran until finally he saw a tan and crimson mound laying inert in the otherwise green grass beside the track.

"Kate!" he cried and slid to a stop at her side.

"Kate," he said softly, looking over her mutilated body in shock.

She lay over on her right side, her legs twisted beneath her body in obscure positions. The back of her was skull now a gaping hole, out of which dripped many globs of blood and brain matter, one of her sides was split open, revealing the disintegrated remnants of what were once her ribs, and the bloody cavity inside of which her now liquified organs once functioned so cleverly to keep her healthy and alive. Her eyes were half closed and blood rolled from her open mouth, down her protruding tongue and pooled in the grass beneath her.

Winston shook violently as he stared down upon her, his breath quivering and tears streaming down his face.

"Kate," he cried softly and laid a paw on her shoulder, but when he removed his paw and saw it coated in her blood, he lost it.

He collapsed onto his haunches and lowered his head, sobbing loudly.

He choked and lifted his head, looking desperately around.

"Help!" he screamed, his voice echoing off of the land before him, "somebody please help!"

His voice echoed all around and then slowly faded, lacing him in silence save the groan of the train as it continued onward into the yond and then disappeared over the horizon.

A&Ω

Humphrey's eyes popped open and his head shot quickly up from the ground as a faint, but oddly familiar scream assaulted his ears


	8. Divided We Fall

**Chapter 8: Divided We Fall**

Humphrey's eyes popped open and his head shot quickly up from the ground as a faint, but oddly familiar scream assaulted his ears, but he quickly regretted such an action, for as soon as he moved, he felt his entire body rebel in a painful fit of spams and throbs, causing him to lower his head once again to alleviate the pain.

For a moment he lay still, trying to remember what had happened to him, but after a span of about ten seconds or so it all came flooding back to him. He had fallen out of the train; Fate had decided that he had gone far enough, so here he was, though where exactly he had wound up was a mystery, and would for now remain a mystery, for that was the least of his concern at the moment. Again he lifted his head, though more slowly this time and felt his stiff neck crack as the inflamed muscles around his spine tugged at the disks between his vertebrae. He knew that getting to his feet would be excruciating, but he also knew that the pain would only grow worse if he continued to lay here, so, mustering as much strength as he could, he rolled himself over onto his stomach, positioned his paws beneath his body, then began to slowly push himself up.

He grimaced and groaned as his trembling legs lifted him higher and higher from the ground, until finally he was righted upon his paws.

"Alright," he panted to himself, "baby steps."

With a wince, he shuffled one of his forepaws forward, then brought his hind paw to follow it, but had to pause here for the pain caused him to lock up.

He suppressed a growl behind tightly clenched teeth and once the pain subsided, he took another step.

Each movement he made provided for him a pain that he thought would be similar to having shards of glass slicing into his every muscle, a searing burn and dull ache which throbbed and spasmed like electric shocks running up and down his entire body. He detested the movement, for the bodily pain he experienced was unimaginable, but at the same time, he welcomed it, for he knew that the mechanical motion of his body was the best remedy for his ailment, so he resolved to keep pushing forward, regardless of how hard it may have been for him to find the proper motivation to subject himself to such an exorbitant level of pain.

Tears stung his eyes as his paws moved again and he cried out when he felt a pop in his spine, causing him to once again arrest his motion. He panted, cursed, then lifted his eyes with a scowl.

"You're on your own now," he reminded, "you have to be tough, you have to become insusceptible to pain."

He felt his blood begin to boil and felt a fire beginning to build inside of him, but he could not explain why. Maybe he still cared about what the pack would think of him running off on his own. With this thought in mind, his scowl deepened.

"Everybody probably doubts you," he mused, "they don't think you can make it on your own. Prove them wrong!"

To the onlooker, he would probably appear to be insane, but for him, this was what he needed to keep himself going. He needed a reason to live, and now he had one. He would prove his worth to the world. He would show all of them what he was really made of. He didn't need her anymore. He didn't need anybody. He was on his own, and on his own, he would survive.

Left paw, right paw, one step at a time, one inch at a time.

One inch lengthened into ten, then became a foot, then three feet, and finally, he was moving freely, though he still carried himself awkwardly, for he had sprained his ankle.

Though he was able to move at a steady walk, he still carried himself with careful deliberation, for he knew that if he were to fall again, he would probably not rise. He kept ever watchful eyes over his paws to ensure that they did not catch on a root or rock or plunge beneath the grass into some imperceivable hole, but at the same time, tried to find a balance between caution and observation, for if danger presented itself to him, he would need to detect it prior to its arrival and act accordingly, which, at this moment, would be to flee.

He also kept his eyes peeled for a place where he could stay, at the bare minimum, for tonight so he could familiarize himself with the new territory in the morning, but such a place seemed to elude him, hidden away in the shadows of the night. Perhaps he should just settle into a soft spot of grass somewhere wait until morning to look. After all, he was completely lost.

It was then that he heard it again, that faint, and hauntingly familiar scream. When he thought about it he could swear that he knew who it was, but was not at the moment entirely convinced that it wasn't all in his head, for he had heard stories about occurrences such as these. He knew of an ancient tribal belief that if somebody you care for dies violently, their spirit is damned and can be heard as it lives its final living moment over and over again until it is granted rest, but what did it matter to him anymore? Why should he care if something bad had happened to her? She brought it upon herself, as usual. Besides, he was through trying to save her, because no matter how many times he was there for her, she either fell short or stabbed him in his back, and he was finished. Never again would he care for her, and never again would he care for any but himself.

As he drew to this conclusion, the scream faded and he smiled in content.

There, now that's better.

He continued to plod his way across the alien territory in which he found himself, remaining cautious of any dangers just in case he was trespassing on a hostile pack's land, but he didn't smell any other wolves, so he at least got the comfort of the possibility that he was alone out here. However, he would not let his guard down, for he found a sense of paranoia in this strange new place that forbid him from growing too comfortable. He didn't know what it was, but there was something about this place that he just was not comfortable with.

Then he realized that his fears were justified.

In the distance, he heard a faint bark, which caught his ear and caused him to turn his head in an easterly direction. How he hoped that wasn't a dog, for dogs more often times than not meant humans, and for his kind, humans meant nothing but trouble.

The bark continued to sound into the night, but was suddenly replaced by a loud ki-yi, then all fell silent again save the chirp of the crickets which sang so rhythmically beneath the stars.

Humphrey paused, listening intently to the atmosphere around him, but when no more strange sounds rose, he continued on his way.

However, after he took about four steps, he stopped and once again regarded the direction from which the bark had sounded, for curiosity had been piqued inside of him. He needed to know for sure if what he feared was fact, that way he could rest easy tonight.

He turned and began to make his way east, trying to navigate in as straight a line as possible, which was not a difficult task, for the wooded area in which he had found consciousness began to thin out into sparse plains.

He continued on, hoping that he wouldn't have to travel too much further and eventually found himself standing at the base of a shallow hill.

He studied it for a moment then began his ascent, though slowly for his injury proved to be quite problematic when certain amounts of pressure were applied at certain angles, and after a climb of about twenty feet or so, he reached its crest and gazed out upon the land beneath him. It was a beautiful and mortifying spectacle, for beneath him, lying about a quarter mile away from the foot of the hill, was a lake which glimmered like a million stars beneath the veil of the night, a most captivating sight which would have awed him were it not for what lay directly on its far bank: a city.

From where he stood, Humphrey could make out the faint outlines of residences, businesses, and parks, all of which were dimly lit by a number of ghostly yellow lights which lined its streets. The city's streets lay empty on this night, but he dared not go any further to investigate, for he knew that if he were to be spotted by any of its residents, both human and canine, he would likely be killed.

So he resolved to stay away from there at all costs. So long as he stayed on his side of the lake and approached the water only to drink, all would be well, or at least, that was what he hoped.

He turned away and began to make his way down the hill, still trying to find a decent place in which to bed down for the night, but after another twenty minutes of searching, he decided to call it quits.

With a tired and defeated sigh, he scanned through the night for a rock or tree big enough to cover his back, and once he found such a place, he laid his head down on his paws and closed his eyes, waiting for the sun to rise and bring about the dawn of a new day, and of a new life.

A&Ω

5 Hours Ago

Amina, the pack's healer and mortician, always hated her job, especially when she had to clean up the body of a youth which, up until today, was proud and strong and beautiful, and how it broke her heart to see such life cut down before it even had a chance to begin.

She had worked on many in the past, but never before had she had to deal with a death as gruesome as hers, and if she was anybody else, she would have called for a closed casket funeral, but the love she had for this particular young alpha was far too great to allow her to remain in such a condition.

So the wounds of the deceased were cleaned and those that could be closed were done so by a concoction she had invented that held wounds tightly closed and was practically invisible to the naked eye, a little something she liked to call Liquid Skin. Her fur had been cleansed of the blood, her mouth was fixed so that it was properly closed and her eyes, once a vibrant amber and now a vacant, glassy brown, were lightly closed, granting her eternal rest.

Using a wet rag made of caribou hide, she wiped the blood from Kate's lips, then discarded it. With a sigh she now stared, so sad to see family end in such a tragic manner, then after a moment she leaned forward, kissed her on the top of her head for the final time, then pulled a larger hide over her face, thus covering her completely.

Looking for a means of taking her mind off of the recent tragety, she then began to tidy up her den, gathering her supplies and putting them in their proper place, but when her eyes fell upon a set of tiny paw prints, cast in mud upon a slate of rock, she allowed what she carried to fall slowly to the ground and she took it into her paws.

Tears stung her eyes as she gazed upon the prints and the engraving which had been carved beneath them, written in such a way that only a pup could have done, with uneven, backwards letters and spelling errors, but she cherished them deeply and would not change them for the world.

"Wurlds Gratist Grama."

A small smile crept across her face as she read the words, and tears began to snake through the fur on her cheeks.

"Oh Kate," she cried softly, a tear dripping from her chin to the slate.

"Mom?" Eve called quietly from the mouth of the den.

Upon being addressed, Amina slowly lowered the slate and leaned it against the wall in its original place, wiped her eyes, then turned to her daughter.

She stood in the entrance with shaky legs and bloodshot eyes, which she seemed to focus solely upon her, almost as though if she did not look upon the body of her daughter, Kate would still be alive.

"Hello, Eve," Amina greeted, wiping her eyes again, for she wanted to look strong for her daughter.

Eve remained in place for a moment longer, hesitant to press forward, then began to approach her mother, though she did so almost as though she were wearing lead shoes.

"Is... she ready?" Eve asked slowly, pausing before the mortician.

Amina only nodded, for a lump had begun to form in her throat which refused to allow her to speak.

Eve nodded as well and finally did she turn back to the caribou hide, under which her daughter now lay, but she remained distant, uncertain if she should approach.

Amina sensed such uncertainty and took to her side, but said nothing. She laid a gentle paw upon her daughter's shoulder, causing her to turn, and the two met eyes, and through her eyes, Eve received the courage she needed to approach.

She sniffled, took in a deep breath of collection, then moved toward her.

As she drew near to the hide, she paused and slowly pulled it back to reveal Kate's face.

"I... I cleaned her up as best I could," Amina said softly, her eyes moving between Kate and her daughter, "I couldn't stand to see her..." she paused for the word "buried" refused to pass her lips. "in such a condition."

Tears rolled down Eve's cheeks as she stared down upon Kate, who appeared now to be practically the same as she had before her death.

"She looks beautiful," Eve choked, "thank you."

Amina nodded, wiping her eyes then Eve drew the hide over her daughter's face once more, covering her.

"Where's Winston?" Amina asked her softly, concerned for her son in law and looking to change the subject.

"He insisted that he would carry her to the... service alone," Eve replied, "he's taking it really hard."

Amina nodded her understanding, for she knew what Winston had seen and could only imagine what sort of trauma he was now experiencing because of it.

"When will he arrive?" she asked monotonously.

"As soon as he finishes getting Kate's... resting place exactly how he feels she deserves it to be," she replied, still refusing to speak such selective words to describe the reality of the situation.

Amina nodded again and turned away, for the air in the den was beginning to turn sour and she needed some fresh air to clear her head, but she would not leave Kate's side, nor would she leave the side of her daughter; they needed her now more than they ever did. Silence consumed them, enveloping the entirety of the den's atmosphere, causing it to grow heavy upon their backs, but despite its afflictive presence, the two allowed it to drone, for neither of the two felt much like talking at the moment.

Then finally he arrived, without a single word, moving as a zombie moves, mindless, lost, but oddly aware of his existence and his objective.

Amina and Eve turned to him, watching his every move. He sauntered slowly into the den, his head held low and his eyes on the floor, but did not speak, nor would he speak until first spoken to.

"Winston," Eve addressed, stepping toward him.

He lifted bloodshot eyes to his wife, revealing to all of them the magnitude of his pain, for in his eyes, they could see that his heart and soul were shattered and that he would almost never be able to repair them. He just did not have that kind of will anymore. They could see that he was angry, not only with himself, but at everything that was his to curse, including those that did not deserve it, and, though they did not know it, most of his irrational hatred was now directed at Tony, for he had set it in his mind that if he had not threatened to send the packs to war in the first place, none of this would have happened; Lilly would not have run away, and Kate would still be alive. It was all his fault.

"Is everything ready?" he asked the two females monotonously.

Amina nodded.

"Yes," she replied.

Winston took his turn to nod and directed his eyes toward Kate.

"Now Winston, I don't think it wise for you to carry her alone," Amina advised, "you might-"

"Don't," he interrupted, "I've messed everything else up in her life, I'll not be prevented from my last chance to do something right for her."

She opened up her mouth to offer further protest, but when Eve placed her paw on top of hers, she turned to her daughter, who silently urged her to leave it be, and closed her mouth.

Winston then approached the caribou hide under which his daughter lay and gingerly began to move her stiffening body until she was positioned along his back, where in any other case, she would have been laid upon a log which would have been placed across the backs of two wolves.

Once she was balanced, he turned to the only remaining members of his family then turned toward the mouth of the den and began to take his leave.

A&Ω

The gathering was grim, all faces which stood around the open grave either glum or stained by tears. Standing directly beside it on the left were Winston, Eve, and Amina, the two females in the deceased's family sobbing quietly, but Winston stood firm for his pack, though in his eyes, he still had tears that he could not control. At the head of the grave, standing in the center of the group, was John, the pack's shaman, who, in a voice as smooth as glass, gave his eulogy.

"We are gathered today beneath the cold shadow of death," he voiced slowly, "which has taken from us one of our dearest children, who, once a vibrant and beautiful alpha, now finds eternal rest in the sacred soil of our earth. Here today, with tears and heavy hearts, we send her to the hands of Almighty God. Ladies and gentlemen, let us pray."

John and the others who had gathered closed their eyes and bowed their heads, but Winston only continued to stare at the mound of dirt which now covered the body of Kate.

"Lord we pray that you keep her safe," he prayed, "that you lift her spirit from this world to join with you in your eternal kingdom and provide for her love and everlasting life. Lord we pray that you watch over her family and give them the strength to overcome this terrible tragedy, and we pray for the lives that will now never be. Lord we pray that you please watch over Lilly, wherever she may have gone. We ask that you keep her safe, and if it be in your will, help her to find prosperity wherever the wind takes her. Lord we pray that-"

Winston's eyes drifted away, for something had disturbed him, and when they fell upon Tony, who approached the congregation slowly, a snarl pierced the air, cutting their shaman off.

"What the hell are you doing here," he demanded to Tony, rising to his paws and stepping forward, "can't you see you've done enough?"

All eyes now focused upon the two, but nobody moved to step between them, for the suddenness of such an outburst left the group in confusion.

Tony was taken back by these words and found himself reeling.

"W-what do you mean?" he asked confused, "I came to-"

"Leave, you have no right to be here after what you've done," Winston growled.

Eve stepped between them and turned to her husband.

"Winston, please, this-"

"No," he seethed, stepping past her, "this is all his fault; he killed our daughter and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let this mother f***er anywhere near her funeral."

Tony was now beginning to grow angry, for he knew that Winston was upset, but he had no right to blame him for her death, and he especially had no right to try and excommunicate him from funeral, especially when he had done nothing wrong.

"I didn't kill her, Winston," Tony said bitterly, though still trying to mind his tongue.

Winston scoffed and stepped toward him.

"You're right, YOU didn't," he replied, "but your actions did, and that is all that matters."

Tony growled under his breath, for he had grown quite tired of the unjust accusations, then took a step of his own toward Winston, now challenging him.

"My actions had nothing to do with any of this," Tony argued, "your miserable attempt at fathering a child is what got her killed."

Winston's lips began to writher back at his molars.

"You had better shut your mouth right now," he threatened, "or I swear to God I will tear you apart."

"Guys, please," Eve cried as she tried to intervene yet again, "stop this."

Winston's scowl only deepened.

"If you hadn't threatened to send us to war in the first place, none of this would have ever happened," he accused, "my daughters would BOTH be sitting safely at home but now they're BOTH gone."

Tony's eyes narrowed further into a bitter scowl.

"But you forget, Winston that it was your idea to have her marry Garth so that we could one day unite the packs," he reminded in a rather condescending tone, "so whose fault is it really? I think we both know."

That did it.

Before anybody could blink, and without any prior warning, Winston lunged at Tony and knocked him to the ground, beginning to tear viciously at his flesh, his every intent to spray his life-giving blood all over the dirt so that his daughter's death would not go unavenged. Tony struggled frantically to free himself from Winston's fury, but was rendered helpless, for the angered father was simply too strong.

The onlookers gasped in horror as Winston attacked the Eastern Alpha, but once the initial shock wore off and they saw that Tony would be killed if no interventions were made, they began to flood to the battle.

"Winston get off of him," Eve cried, trying to pull him away, but Winston's might was simply too powerful and he shoved her away like a fly.

That was when the first Eastern wolf reached them. He leapt upon Winston, rolling him over and off of Tony, but Winston was quick to his paws once more and lunged at his new enemy. The wolf dodged his first attack, but he was too slow to avoid the second and found his foreleg to be clamped in the Western Alpha's powerful jaws.

He cried out in pain then was sent smashing to the ground upon his back, but Winston was not satisfied. He placed his paw upon the Eastern wolf's throat and began to press, slowly choking the life out of him.

Further help then came in the form of Tony, who threw his head into Winston's side, knocking him to the ground.

Chaos then ensued as wolves from each of the two packs leapt into action, at first attempting to break up the brawl, but when tempers began to flare up amongst them, they became encased in the conflict themselves, beginning to rip and tear at the flesh of their adversaries, who were, up until recently, mutual friends, maybe soon to be good friends, but war, however, would disallow such formations of fellowship to exist.

Those who could not bring themselves to fight simply stood to the side, watching as everything they had worked so hard to try and build came crashing down all around them. Among those were Eve, who, normally an advocate of war and violence when it was for the right reasons, could only bring herself to cry, for it seemed to her that no matter how hard they fought to drive evil from the park, it was never far away, hiding in the shadows, waiting patiently to show its ugly face and cast them once more into bloody conflict.

A yelp rose over the snarls as one wolf was injured, left to bleed on the ground, possibly to die, then another fell, surely dead, for his throat had been torn. Things were getting out of hand rapidly.

Tony realized quickly that he was fighting a losing battle, so he lifted the call for retreat.

"Eastern wolves get out of here!" Tony suddenly yelled to his pack, causing them to turn their heads to him for an instant, "retreat!"

Those who could scrambled to their paws and began to beat a hasty and humiliating retreat to the east, while those who could not either lay dead or helpless upon the ground. Winston and the others who fought ran them all the way to their territory, snarling and nipping at their heels to add insult to their defeat and once their enemies were safely across the creek and hidden amongst the shadows of the trees, they ceased their assault. Winston stood breathlessly for a moment, bleeding from the many abrasions in his legs, chest and face, then turned to those who had followed, and ordered them to move back to the site of the battle so that they may assess the carnage and help those that may need it.

Upon arrival to the site of the battle, Winston realized just what sort of damage had been done, for now was the first time he had truly looked over his pack.

Cail, the largest of their alphas, had lost an eye, but others were not so lucky.

Hutch, who now stood awkwardly upon three paws, for his shin had been shattered, had also lost an ear in the conflict and now bled profusely into the grass, moments away from fainting if not attended to promptly by a medical official.

Dakoda, his mate, had deep gashes along her stomach which would more than likely take her life if left to bleed as they did, and multiple others suffered injuries that would forever alter their appearance and their lives; others, still, lay on the field where they had fallen, dead or dying.

But Amina tended not to them. Rather she was making her rounds checking the bodies of the two Eastern wolves who had fallen and helping the one she could, but Winston would not allow it. He stepped forward.

"Why are you helping him" he demanded crossly, "we've got wolves who need your help now."

"He needs my help too," she argued, not even turning to acknowledge him, "and if he doesn't get it he'll die."

"So be it," Winston replied indifferently, "the enemy-"

"The enemy?" Amina demanded, turning away from her patient, who groaned and whimpered at her paws, "you attacked THEM, Winston."

"And not without just cause," he replied.

Amina growled under her breath.

"You've always been a giant pup, you know that," she accused under the apprehensive gaze of the pack, "look, I'm sorry Kate is gone, okay, I loved her too, but dammit, Winston, this is not a matter worth starting a war over! Can't you see what you've done? You've torn this entire pack apart because you weren't grown up enough to accept things for what they were."

"Mom, please," Eve begged, pleading with her to not carry it any further.

But to her pleas, she took no heed.

"And I'm certain that I'm not the only one who feels this way either," she informed, "look around, Winston, you're losing the faith of your pack. They're beginning to question your leadership, and pretty soon you will find yourself with nothing to look back upon but a sad and lonely life when death finally comes knocking at your den."

Winston growled bitterly under his breath.

"These things happen, Winston" she continued, "and you have no right to blame anybody but yourself for this. It's all on you. I mean did you ever actually take the time to listen to her, or did every word she said roll in through one ear and out the other? She thought the whole god damned world of you and you ignored her."

These accusations under which Winston now found himself struck a cord deep inside of him which caused the growl which rumbled deep in the base of his throat to rise slightly as his aggravation and denial grew.

"Feeling like a piece of shit by now?" she asked, now too angry to control her tongue, "that's good because you should."

Winston was now beginning to tremble with rage, though he still tried to keep himself composed.

"Don't think that just because you're family I won't have you banished," he warned.

She laughed.

"You think that to be a threat?" she mocked, "I was about to leave anyway."

Upon hearing this, Eve stepped between them.

"Mom no," she implored, "don't talk like that. There's gotta be another way."

Amina, however, would not be swayed.

"No," she replied bitterly, "I've already had to bury one member of my family, I'll not stay here to watch the rest of you die in some pointless war, and if it means my life is forfeit, so be it."

Winston glared silently for a moment.

"So this is your decision then?" he asked her flatly.

She nodded.

"Winston, mom, please don't do this," Eve begged, "we can still-"

"No, we can't," Amina replied boldly, "there's nothing more that can be done. It's all over. We're sunk."

Silence filled the air around them for a few moments, but Winston broke it when he stepped forward.

"You know the penalty of desertion," Winston reminded.

Tears filled Eve's eyes when her mother nodded.

"Winston please," she begged, "no."

Winston, however, seemed unfazed by his mate's cries.

He raised his paw into the air, preparing to end her life, but at the last moment, he felt his conscience overpower him, so rather than killing her, he simply brought his claws down hard across Amina's eye, slicing three deep gashes into her skin.

Amina's head jerked to the side with the blow and she stumbled back slightly, but after a second, she lifted her head.

"Get out of here," Winston said to her coldly.

Blood poured down Amina's face from her wounds, but she stood firm, nodded, then turned around and began to walk away, but after a few paces she stopped, for she had one final request.

"Allow me to take him with me," she said, referring to the injured Eastern male, whose life was slipping steadily away from his grasp.

"Take him," Winston replied bitterly, turning away from her, "he'll most likely did anyway."

Amina wordlessly moved forward and gingerly slid her body beneath his, then once he was laid across her back, she turned away.

"Winston, please don't do this," Eve cried as her mother began to grow distant, "Winston!"

Winston only walked away without even acknowledging that she had spoken to him, then paused and lifted his head to regard the pack.

"Western wolves, let's go home."

Some moved immediately to his side either out of fear or undying loyalty, but many more hesitated, remaining in place, each for reasons of their own, but the most important of those who remained was Eve.

"So this is how it is going to be?" he asked, turning to her.

"This is how it has to be," she replied, silent tears streaming through the fur on her cheeks.

"So everything we've ever done, all of the tears, the tests, all the blood, it's all been for nothing, huh?" he asked.

Eve nodded.

"It would appear so," she replied, "but this shouldn't come as a great surprise. You should have known that I was going to leave you anyway."

Eve had in fact been lying when she said this, for had this incident been averted, she would have been able to forgive him for what he had done, but after everything that had happened, she just couldn't find it in her heart to stay by his side any longer, despite how much she still loved him.

Winston was visibly hurt by her words, but his pride disallowed him to change his mind.

"You have one of two options," he said to them after a short span of silence, "you can stay and work as staff until the war is over or you can leave, but if you leave do not come back. Any attempts to return will be met with deadly force. You have a day to decide or I shall decide for you."

With this statement made, he turned to the meager numbers which remained under his command.

"The rest of you return to your dens. We have at least a day before the East mounts a counter offensive. We have that long to prepare and not a moment to lose."

The seven loyalists rose and followed him back to the den area, leaving Eve, Amina, and the others alone to make their decision, but such a decision would have to wait for the time being as they had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Fetch me my kit," Amina ordered one of the wolves who stood beside her as she gently slid the wolf off of her back, "hurry, he can't hold on much longer."

By this time the red furred wolf was trembling noticeably, for his body had run cold despite the tepid temperature of the evening, and would soon go into shock. If that were to happen, his body would shut down and there would be nothing Amina could do about it. Their medical research had yet to acquire such knowledge.

Some who watched him suffer sniffled as silent tears trickled through the fur on their cheeks, but they dared not move him or attempt to help because they knew that Amina was the only one who could; if he were to be tampered with by one who was not a professional, he would surely die.

His breath began to become choked and he began to thrash violently about upon the ground.

"He's seizing," Amina cried, placing her paws on his shoulders to hold him down, "get a stick, now!"

Though it seemed a strange request, the wolves scoured the ground frantically for a stick, and when they located one, they handed it quickly over to her.

Amina took the stick into her paw and slid it into the male's mouth, producing his tongue, for if left inside of his mouth, he would choke on it.

"Hold this," Amina ordered the wolf who stood closest to her, "and for God sake do not put your paw into his mouth."

The wolf, though disgusted, took his tongue into her paw and held it while Amina worked to secure him.

Then finally the runner returned with the kit.

Amina took not even the time to thank him before she went to work.

She scrambled through her many medicines until she found a sedative and quickly dipped her claws into it then punctured a vein in his arm to administer it into his blood.

Though it was not enough to put him to sleep, it settled his body to where Amina could work her magic without having to restrain him.

Working as quickly as she could, she produced a small amount of plasma, for the wolf had lost an unimaginable amount of blood, and introduced it to his body then began to work on his wounds. Taking not the time to clean them, for there would be time for that later, she began to apply her Liquid Skin to the wolf's wounds, sealing them and effectively stopping his bleeding, but they were not out of the woods yet. Now they needed to be sure that he stayed conscious.

"Talk to me," Amina told him, trying to keep him awake, "what is your name?"

"R-flafdr," he replied weakly and unintelligibly.

"What is your name?" she asked again.

"R-ghc-Richard."

"Do you have any family, Richard?" she asked.

"N... no," he answered.

"Oh that's too bad," she replied, "What's your favorite season?"

He made no reply.

Amina gently shook him.

"Come on now, you've gotta stay with me," she said to him, "keep talking, Richard, what is your favorite season?"

"Fall."

"I love fall," Amina mused, "so many colors, what color is your favorite?"

"Orange," he coughed.

"Mine too," she said, taking his paw into hers, "have you got a girlfriend?"

"Y-yes," he answered.

"What is her name?"

"Ch-Charlene."

Amina smiled.

"She sounds beautiful," she said to him, "I would love to meet her."

He smiled softly, his eyes closed.

"Am I gonna die," he asked her weakly, his body trembling.

She brushed his paw with her own.

"I won't let that happen," she assured, though she was still uncertain, for he had lost a lot of blood, "we'll get you all cleaned up and you'll see Charlene again in no time."

He coughed, tears stinging his eyes, for he knew she was lying.

"I'd like that," he smiled.

"You just hang on," she said to him, "we'll get you some water."

Upon hearing the word, Eve moved away, heading toward the river to get him something to drink.

"What-what's your name?" he asked her softly.

"Amina," she replied.

"Thank you," he said to her gratefully, "for everything."

"Just doing my job," she said to him, "no thanks are necessary."

He nodded, smiling still, then tilted his head back.

"It's beautiful," he said softly.

"What is?" Amina asked him.

"Paradise, " he replied, "I can see it."

"Richard-" Amina pleaded, for she did not want him to die, but he interrupted.

"Don't," he choked, "it's okay. She's calling to me."

"But-"

"Let me go," he said to her, "let me be with Her."

Amina sniffled and held his paw tightly.

"It's alright," Richard assured, "it's al-"

His body tensed for a moment then his paw fell limp in hers as his life faded.

Amina sniffled, still holding his paw, then Eve returned with the water.

"I got the-" she cut himself off upon seeing him, "is... is he-"

Amina sniffled again and slowly laid his paw down onto his chest, then pulled hers away.

Those gathered hung their heads in distain, then one by one they lifted their heads to the sky above, howling their sorrow in one sad voice which carried Richard into the waiting arms of God.

Their howls slowly faded into the evening air and silence consumed the atmosphere yet again.

For a matter of about three minutes, time seemed at a stand still. Nobody moved and they hardly breathed. All they could do was stand and stare at Richard's body, as it drove home the reality of the gruesome war which would surely follow, reminding them all why they had to leave.


End file.
